Il Pane Della Vita (10 page)

“
Then no, I would not know him. He was the one who was killed?”

“They haven’t
found the body,” said Brother Salvatore. “Perhaps he’s floating among the clouds.”

“Ah,” said Nico,
again distracted. “I should make sure the
pannitone
is not burning.” He walked away, pocketing the change Sister Angela had given him.

Brother
Salvatore looked at the nun. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have told him about the body.”

Her mind taking in what the baker had told them,
Sister Angela had barely heard him. “I’m sure the story will be in the papers soon,” she said. “But no, it isn’t a good idea to tell people what we’re investigating. Nico is talkative. The whole village will probably know about our dilemma soon.

The nun walked into the power company just down the road and introduced herself to the receptionist who let her into the manager’s office. The nun sat down i
n front of his desk. “Mr. Lippi, you have probably heard that there was a gas explosion at the hermitage up the hill. Were you here when the tank was installed?”

“No, Sister. I’
ve already spoken with the police. The tank is intact. The incident must have happened in the cottage.”

“I suppose the police
showed you the devices used to ignite the explosion.”

“Yes. The detective
showed me cuts in the pipes. That part of the pipe was exposed. The pipe inside the walls would have been hidden and difficult to get to without damage to the wall. The small device could have ignited the gas after the leakage. The bigger device was probably not involved in the explosion, and I told them I had no idea why it was used.”

“I
want to see the records of visits by your field workers.”

“Fo
r how long? That would take the people in this office weeks to gather.”

“How many
workers do you have?”

“We have five.
That includes both clerical and those in the field.”

“I would
like to interview each of them.”

“Why didn’t the police do that?”

“I’m sure they were going to approach you soon. Remember, this may be a murder investigation. Your workers would be experts in the handling of gas, and if one wasn’t involved himself, he may have inadvertently told the perpetrator how to destroy such a building.”

Lippi
stood. “Perhaps Morena can get a warrant, Sister. I won’t interrupt the valuable resources of this company without one.”

The nun stood. “It would be in your best interest for us to find the perpetrator, Mr.
Lippi. What if he has something against the monastery and hermitage in general? What if this explosion was an experiment? If he succeeds in getting away with this crime, maybe the tanks will be next.”

Feeling better, Sister Angela marched into Neri’s office. “I hope you have someone who may have actually seen the action the other night. I gave you a list and want to follow the order on the list, Mr. Neri. The people at the top of the list will be unable to remember by the time I get to them.”

“Yes, yes, Sister Angela. I am doing the best I can. I do not know why the police are not investigating. Let me check your list today.”

The nun understood the jab. Neri would not
realize the strength of the bishop’s influence in this case. Perhaps seeking the abbot’s help would get the investigation going, but she might lose Neri’s trust, if indeed he
did
trust her.

“I have the two of our
housekeepers on the list. They would tell you the most about
the
eremita
because they had access to his cottage”

The nu
n’s anger subsided. “Yes, that’s a good angle.”

“I also have Brother Francisco
. He is the only other ordained priest and leads the prayer services. I thought he would know more about Brother Pietro because he might have heard his confessions. Let me remind you…”

“I’m well aware of the rules of confession, Mr. Neri.”

“Your list leads with his close neighbors. I shall try to get one of those for this afternoon, if you wish.”

“Thank you.
Perhaps I can give you a revised schedule before I leave. Were you able to get that list of visitors?”

“No. I have someone wor
king on that. Let me see how we are coming. Maybe we can break it down and give you a month or so at a time.”

“I don’t understand why there might be a delay.”

“The list has not been added to the computer, Sister. I understand that in the world outside there are several people that can key it in, but here we find a dearth of technical experts.”

“
You
have a computer. Perhaps you could train someone to do that job.”

“Yes, well—I have to admit when this computer goes down, it takes several days for Brother
Bruno to come and fix it.”

“I understand. I’ll head to the conference room now to interview the housekeepers.”

“Oh, and Brother Francisco prefers you talk to him in the
chiesa
. That is where the brother talks to visitors.”

“Thank you, Mr. Neri.”

As she started to leave, a monk entered to deliver something to Mr. Neri. Holding the door, the nun hesitated. When the monk turned to leave, she recognized him as someone from Santo Velo. He nodded and headed back out the door.

“Sister Angela, wait,” Neri said. “Brothe
r Pascal said that you requested this from Father Rafaello.” He handed her the envelope. “I hope he went to the kitchen to get some refreshment after his long trek.”

“Bless you both,” the nun said. “This day may turn out to be the most productive yet.”

“Good morni
ng,” said Sister Angela, not looking up. “What’s your name?”

“Mona,” said the woman across from her.

“Mona Giunta, is that correct? How long have you worked here as a housekeeper?”

“Yes. I have worked here seventeen years.”

“My, that’s a long time. You must enjoy the beauty in the surroundings.”

“It’s a job, Sister. I have a hu
sband and two teenage sons. It isn’t easy to feed a family these days. My husband doesn’t make enough.”

Brother Salvatore brought coffee to the two women and sat down, ready to take notes.

“Where do you live, Mrs. Giunta.”

“In Avalle.”

“And you have cleaned for all the hermits at one time or another, I suppose.”

“Yes, but there are always new ones.”

“Have you cleaned Brother Pietro’s cell?”

“I don’t know the
eremiti
by name.”

“The one who’s cell blew up.”

“I have cleaned that cell several times. I don’t know who lived there, but I have been to that cottage.”

“I believe Brother Pietro has been there since before you began working for the
eremo,
Mrs. Giunta. What did you do when you cleaned?”

“That particular cell? I’m not sure. I usually clean sheets, floors, and bathrooms.”

“But not all brothers are the same. Sometimes they leave clothing on the floor instead of in the cleaning hampers. Sometimes they leave food on a table instead of returning all the dishes to the pass-through for pickup by the kitchen. Some of them have guests and therefore request extra cleaning. Did Brother Pietro have guests?”

“I wouldn’
t reveal their private habits to anyone, Sister. I would be let go.”

“I don’
t want details about all the brothers’ habits, Mrs. Giunta. I need help with the habits of a particular brother—one who is assumed to be dead.”

“He was normal.”

“How was he normal? Was his cell always clean?”

Mona squirmed and then stood up. “He was unusually neat. His bed was always made. I unmade it to change the sheets.”

“Did you notice when he had guests?”

“He didn’t ask for any
special help. I suppose he requested things from the kitchen when he was going to have a guest. I do know of one occasion where there was wine that had been spilled on the carpet.”

“Of his sitting room, his bedroom. Where was it?”

“In his sitting room. I had to clean it up.”

“He asked you to clean it up?”

“No, he was at a service in the church when I arrived. I just cleaned it up.”

“When was this?”

“A few weeks ago.”

“Is t
hat the first time you noticed something different in his cottage?”

“Yes, I mean, no.”

“Go on.”

Mona hesitated, turning to look out of the window to the courtyard. “
When I clean the bathroom, I check his hair brushes to see if I have to clean them too. Several months ago, I found his brush had been used by someone else.”

“Go on. How could you tell?”

“There was dark hair tangled in the bristles. It was long hair.”

“It could not have been Brother Pietro’s?”

“Brother Pietro had a short gray beard. Otherwise, he was bald.”

“I suppose you cleaned everything so we can’t look at it no
w,” the nun said out loud. “Can you be more specific on the date?”

“Only that it was cool that day in winter
.”

“Anything else?”

“No.”

“Then you can go b
ack to work. I promised I wouldn’t keep you long.”

Mona headed for the door and put her hand on the knob.
“Sister?”

“Yes. Do you remember something?”

“The incident with the wine…”

“Yes.”

“The wine was on more than the carpet. The drapes…”

“There was wine on the drapes?”

“Yes. They came back from the cleaners the week of the explosion. I don’t know why the cleaners kept them so long. He entered when I was trying to hang them, and he helped me. I liked him. Please find out who did this.”

After she shut the door behind her, Brother Salvatore said, “We should go after the one who threw the wine at him.”

“There’s a big gulf between spilled wine and murder. It’s curious, however, that the visitor showed so much passion during a visit with a hermit.

“
How do you do, Ms. Barone? How long have you worked here at the hermitage?” asked Sister Angela.

“
My name is Alicia Barone. I have worked here two years. Before that I was at Santo Velo.”

The nun smiled. “Did you want to move up here?”

“When I worked at Santo Velo, I had a room there, but I met my husband in Collinaterra and when we got married, I moved to a town in the valley. The abbot helped me get this job, even though it takes me over forty-five minutes each way to commute.”

“Do you know Brother Pietro?”

“Yes. I recognize most of the brothers. I think it’s important for my job to understand them.”

“How so?”

“I know that Brother Orsino is allergic to detergent. I wash his sheets using a special soap. I also know that one of the other brothers hates the smell of the cleaning fluid we use in the bathrooms. I use something else for him.”

“And Brother Pietro? What do you need to do differently for him?”

“Nothing. He rarely spoke to anyone. I heard some of the brothers complaining that he wasn’t too friendly.”

“Before or after the explosion?”

“Before, of course. No one has talked to me about him in the last few days.”

“What do you think the brother meant by being
unfriendly?
Didn’t he talk to them? Did they ever say anything else about another brother?”

“They sometimes talked about each other. It was always funny. They liked to make me laugh. I’m not sure I believed all of it.”

“But you believed them when they talked about Brother Pietro?”

“Yes, I guess.”

“Because he didn’t talk to you like the others did. Could it have been because he wasn’t supposed to be talking to others? ”

“Perhaps
he was a stickler for the rules.”

“I assume the rules extended to you
too. Perhaps Brother Pietro didn’t want you to get into trouble for talking with him.”

“We’
re allowed to speak with them.”

“To speak about cleaning issues, I think. Perhaps Brother Pietro didn’t have any issues. When you cleaned for him, did it look like there were any pro
blems with cleaning his cottage?”

“No.”

“Was there any incident that made you have to work longer at cleaning his room?”

“I suppose I should have reported the woman who visited him.”

“Did she visit him more than once?”

“Yes, but not often. She was young and beautiful, and when she visited, they sat close
, out in his garden. They laughed, and he held her hand.”

“Describe her. Was she a blond
e?”

“No,
the color was more chestnut, about shoulder length.”

“When was the last visit?”

“About a week or so ago.”

“When she visited, did you find anything else amiss in the house?
Did the inside of the cottage look different?”

“I didn’t do his cottage that week. Mona usually cleans the
cottage. I only do it when she’s on holiday.”

“Speaking of work, I suppose I should let you get to it. Mona would
n’t appreciate having to cover your cottages because I kept you.” She turned to Brother Salvatore. “I recommend you take a nap. I promised the abbot that you would make up the sleep you miss because of your work.